


You Make Me Melt

by Domokoru



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Lights, F/M, Family Backstory Headcanons, First Dates, Fluff, Froenborg, Height Differences, Post-Canon, Requited Love, Shopping, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28315203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Domokoru/pseuds/Domokoru
Summary: After the events of Azran Legacy, the Bostonius hosts not only Desmond and Raymond, but Dariya and Emmy of The World Times!Due to unforeseen snowstorms, they have to make an emergency and wait out the storms before flying back to London.Desmond and Emmy go explore Froenborg during the holiday season to pass the time.
Relationships: Emmy Altava & Desmond Sycamore, Emmy Altava/Desmond Sycamore
Kudos: 8





	You Make Me Melt

About a year after the events of the "Azran Incident," Professor Desmond Sycamore had invited Dariya Kolum of The World Times and her new photographic journalist Emmy Altava to live on the ship with him and Raymond. The decision was on a whim, but it wasn't as if he had much else to do these days anyway. Coincidentally, the locales that The Times' press planned to visit for news stories aligned with the ruin excavation locations Desmond intended to document, more often than not. With this being the case, the arrangement had worked out rather well for the past couple of months.

In one late December, the Bostonius had to make an unexpected landing on the way back to London. The weather forecast was full of nothing but blizzards, and they had to pick up more supplies anyway, as the group's provisions had decreased faster than they expected. The Bostonius landed in the midway point to London, Froenborg. Usually, they all avoided coming so far north in the winter months because of snowstorms such as this, but this was an act of necessity.

Desmond docked the Bostonius at the Froenborg Aerodrome while Emmy rubbed the fog off the window with her sleeve.

"Well, I suppose we'll be stuck here until the weather blows over." The professor murmured begrudgingly. "Hopefully you didn't have any holiday plans back in London." Emmy shook her head.

"Nah, not really." She shrugged. "Here, let's go shopping while the sky's still clear." The girl went over to grab their coats from the doorway and meet the man halfway to hand him his. Emmy, unsurprisingly, sported a mustard snow jacket that looked very similar to her usual coat, and Desmond began buttoning up his burgundy trench coat. The girl rustled around in her pocket until she felt a piece of paper, confirming she had the grocery list she'd written earlier that day after asking Dariya and Raymond what they needed. She looked back over at the professor, who was still bundling up in warm clothing: a scarf, a sweater, gloves, pocket warmers, a thick beanie, another coat...

"The storm hasn't even started yet, Professor!" Emmy held back a snort. "You look like Santa Claus with all those layers under that red coat!" Desmond shrugged at her unflattering comparison.

"Better Santa Claus than Jack Frost. I get cold easily, even when the temperature _isn't_ in the negatives." After slipping on their shoes in the doorway, the two were set to walk to downtown Froenborg.

The mille-feuille-esc layers of trampled and fresh snow crunched under their boots at the pair made their way downtown. The streetlights and bridges were adorned with lights and cedar garlands, announcing to all that Christmas and the Winter Solstice had arrived. Emmy looked around at all of the decorations as they walked in silence, until she turned towards a westbound road that she'd rather have forgotten; it was the road that led to the ice cave, where all the trouble had started _and_ ended. The girl looked away as fast as she could, but her mind swirled with terrible memories. She wanted to think about something more pleasant.

"Um, so... You asked about holiday plans. Do you have any?" Emmy asked the professor.

"Not particularly." Desmond responded.

"Aw, not even watching a Christmas movie or something?" She pressed.

"Actually, most of my family was of Jewish descent." He replied.

"Oh! Then... a Hanukkah movie?"

"We weren't practicing. It's been a while, I don't recall having any particular traditions in our household, besides maybe eating dinner together." Desmond chuckled.

"Eating dinner together isn't a holiday thing! It's normal, so it doesn't count!" Emmy snickered. "I liked Christmas trees a lot when I was little. I remember my dad picking me up every year so I could put the star on top." She smiled sadly at the memory. Desmond didn't know how to respond, so their conversation melted into silence once again.  
  
Trudging down the streets and popping in and out of several shops, the two quickly managed to fill their bags with groceries and toiletries to bring back to the Bostonius. It had been a relatively simple task, and that made Emmy smile.

"Th-that took l-less time than I th-thought it would!" She beamed, her shivers interrupting her sentence. "I k-kind of regret c-cutting my hair so sh-short now though! Brrr!" Desmond stopped on the sidewalk and put his bags down. He used his newly-freed hands to undo his scarf and wrap it around Emmy's neck.

"Here, it's Santa's present to a young woman who doesn't know how to dress for the weather." Desmond held back a chuckle as he picked up his bags again.

"Gee, thanks, Mister Holly Jolly!" Emmy tried to say sarcastically, but ended up laughing halfway through. The scarf was made of a red plaid flannel, very soft and especially comfortable after being warmed by Desmond first. After being loaned the scarf, Emmy felt warmer already. Even her cheeks and the tips of her ears felt hotter somehow....

* * *

The sun had set, but the town of Froenborg continued to shine bright with Christmas lights that decorated nearly every home. Emmy rubbed a hole in the fog on her window to get a better look, but she still didn't have the best angle from her room. She decided to go out and look at them in person. Stepping out into the foyer, she saw Desmond reading a book on the couch.

"Professor, may I borrow your scarf again?" Emmy asked, feeling lucky she ran into him on the way out.

"Why? Did you forget to get something from the store?" He tilted his head.

"Oh, no." She laughed bashfully. "I was actually going to go look at the Christmas lights..." Emmy noticed him looking at her intently as she revealed her plans. "D-Do you wanna come along?" Desmond nodded.

"I figure seeing traditional holiday customs in a country so close to 'the birthplace of Saint Nicholas' could prove to be informative." He adjusted his glasses.

"Yeah, and fun! Let's go!" And so, the pair dressed in their winter clothes and went out into the snow for the second time that day. They took the same route as earlier, weaving their way down avenues and alleyways to look at the decorated storefront displays.

"Ooh, look at that one! So cute!" Emmy pointed at a toy shop. The display was arranged to look like a winter wonderland of a forest scene, complete with stuffed animals and fluffy cotton snow. Desmond nodded. "That one's pretty too!" She skipped up to the next store, a stationary shop that had decorated their window with snowflakes cut of all different types of colored paper. "Oh, oh! Look at _that_ one!" Emmy grabbed Desmond's arm and pointed at yet another window. The town's premier jeweler had a plastic Christmas tree, adorned with glittering rings and bracelets along with the usual ornaments and tinsel. The young woman was mesmerized by the sparkling tree, but as soon as she turned to move on, she realized she was still clutching the professor by the arm. She let go abruptly. "I, um, sorry about that! I just got a little carried away..." Emmy said bashfully.

"No need to apologize." Desmond smiled warmly. "It's nice to see you get so excited. It's quite endearing—" Both he and Emmy began to blush under the warm light from the store window as the words left his lips. "Er, I mean, look at that!" The man pointed at the tree to avoid eye contact. "That's quite an earring, isn't it!?" Desmond laughed nervously, hoping that he manged to hide his Freudian slip.

"Anyway," Emmy also tried to steer the conversation out of the realm of awkwardness and back into normalcy, "let's keep going! I want to see the huge tree they put up near the bridge!" They'd passed the tree earlier that day, but the girl figured that it'd be much more impressive at night. She unconsciously reached her hand out to grab his arm and drag him along again, but caught herself and stopped before she touched him, hoping that he didn't notice.

They made their way down a side street, circling around until they found the pond bridge again. The town of Froenborg was a relatively old European town, meaning that the narrow stone streets were unintentionally labyrinthine in design. As they walked up to the bridge, they saw the tree at the other side.

"Woah..." Emmy murmured. Even from across the bridge, the pine tree was enormous. It was dripping with tinsel and ribbon garlands thicker than their arms, with illuminated ornaments bigger than their heads. The lights on the tree shone even brighter than those of the surrounding buildings, shining bright as a festive centerpiece for the town square.

Emmy tipped her head back, trying to see the top of the tree. There wasn't space to move farther backward; the houses and shops were built very close together, blocking the tree from view if they left the square. Emmy tried to jump in the air a little, straining her neck to see the top.

"What are you doing?" Desmond asked.

"I'm! Trying! To! See! The! Star!" Emmy said between hops, keeping her eyes on the tree. The man chuckled and slowly began to crouch down.

"Here." Desmond motioned to his back. "Get on. I'm fairly tall, so you should be able to see it with our combined height." Emmy stopped jumping and looked down at him.

"Are you sure? What about your back?" The girl tilted her head.

"Don't make me into an old man. I'll be fine." He smirked.

"Okay...!" Emmy clambered onto his back and grabbed his head for support as she draped her legs over his shoulders. "Woah..." She tried to hold tight enough to not lose her balance, but loose enough to not yank Desmond's hair.

"Ready?" The man asked. Emmy nodded, but then realized he couldn't see her face from down there.

"Ready!"

"Alright. Hup!" Desmond grabbed Emmy's calves and stood back upright. He stumbled backward a bit as the girl wobbled on top of him. "There... Can you see it...?" Emmy looked up at the Christmas tree.

"Oh, _wow!_ Yeah, I can see it!" She exclaimed.

"What does it look like? I can't see from down here." The professor asked.

"It's _huge!_ It's blue and yellow and white, and it's really sparkly! And it has a tail, like a shooting star!" Emmy chattered. Desmond smiled as he listened to her describe it. They stood like that for a bit, until Desmond's legs began to quiver.

"May I put you back down now?" He asked tentatively.

"Oh, yeah! I'm done." Emmy laughed. Desmond exhaled in relief and crouched back down. The girl climbed off and brushed the wrinkles out of her coat. She was starting to feel cold, and she noticed the professor shivering as well. "Wanna go to The Melted Snowflake for a bite to eat?" Desmond nodded vigorously at the opportunity to get out of the cold. They retraced their steps back towards Slippery Street and to The Melted Snowflake.

The bell at the top of the door jingled, signaling their entry. Rich aromas of stew and freshly baked bread greeted the pair as they stomped the snow off their boots in the doorway. Desmond picked up a menu and sat at the bar while Emmy beelined to the display case.

"No way!" Emmy beamed at something in the display case before turning to Desmond. "Professor, they have Christmas cake here!" Desmond smiled back at her and turned called out to the owner behind the bar.

"Two cups of peppermint cacao tea and a slice of Christmas cake, please." The owner nodded in acknowledgement and turned to the opposite counter to begin brewing the tea. Emmy came back to join Desmond, taking a seat on one of the cushioned bar stools.

"You're not getting any cake?" Emmy asked, a bit surprised.

"No. I'm not really fond of Christmas cake..." Desmond held back a shudder at the thought of raisins, currents, and brandy mixed together in one monster of a "dessert." Emmy had a more mature palate than he would've guessed. The girl in question blinked in disbelief.

"Oh well, more for me!" She took off the scarf and unbuttoned her coat, already feeling warmer inside the restaurant. Her eyes widened as she saw the owner come back carrying a tray of teacups, a kettle, and a perfectly cut slice of cake. The older woman placed it between the two of them with a smile.

"Enjoy."

The pair said their thanks to her and Desmond began pouring the tea. Looking over at the plate of cake, he found himself confused. It looked like a strawberry shortcake, albeit with more cream, but nothing like the dark brown Christmas cakes he was used to seeing in London.

"That's not a Christmas cake." He said, utterly dumbfounded. "Isn't that just a shortcake?" Emmy gave him a confused look back.

"No? It's a Christmas cake." She brought a forkful up to her mouth and hummed in pleasure. "I haven't had any in so long, but this is _definitely_ a Christmas cake." Emmy stopped talking to take a sip of tea and take another bite. "It was my mum's favorite, so my dad would always buy one for Christmas, even after she was gone..." She blinked a pang of sadness out of her eyes and moved past the thought. "Poor Dad, it was always a struggle to find a bakery in the entire country that made them the right way." Desmond continued looking curiously at the slice of cake.

"Never heard of it before, dear?" The restaurant owner overhead their conversation as she polished a glass. "It's Japanese-style Christmas cake. We get a lot of tourists from there around this time of year, to see the town and the Northern Lights. It sells like hotcakes, which also sell pretty well!" The woman laughed.

"Oh... I didn't realize." Looking closely at Emmy's facial features as he sipped his tea, he was a bit surprised at himself for not guessing it before.

"Yeah, I'm half-Japanese! Didn't I tell you?" Desmond shook his head. "My dad's just plain old British. Well, he _did_ say they moved here from the states right before I was born, so... Amer-itish?" Emmy stopped to take another big bite of cake. "This is so good! It's perfect!" She said around a mouthful of food, giving the owner a thumbs-up.

"I'm glad." The woman laughed.

"Here!" Emmy picked up another forkful, trying to get the perfect balance of cake, cream, and strawberry. "You try a bite, Professor!" She held it up to his face.

"I couldn't, you like it so much I wouldn't want to—" Emmy didn't hesitate to shove it into his mouth as he spoke. Caught off-guard, Desmond sputtered a bit before properly tasting the cake. His eyes widened and he shuddered a bit.

"Isn't it good!?" Emmy asked.

"It's... _really_ sweet..." Desmond could feel himself shaking from the sugar rush, and possibly from the indirect kiss from Emmy. "It's better than English Christmas cakes, but I think I'm too old for this."

"Even though you said not to make you into an old man?" The girl laughed as she continued to eat, her mouth lingering a bit on her fork during her next mouthful. Desmond took a big gulp of tea to wash the sugar off his teeth.

"Big talk from the one who was calling me 'Santa Claus' earlier." The man laughed with her.

"You're not gonna let that go, are you?" Emmy snorted.

"If I was actually angry, I wouldn't be out here buying you cake." Desmond retorted.

"Oh yeah, thanks for the cake and tea!" Emmy said quickly, not realizing that he'd cover the bill. "And, um, thanks for loaning me your scarf, and coming with me tonight." Her voice gradually got softer as she felt her face grow hot.

"O-of course." Desmond reached for his teacup again, his hand trembling a bit at her sudden shift in demeanor. "After all, who else would you drag around and climb on top of if I wasn't here?" He laughed nervously.

"Oh, stop! _You're_ the one who said it was fine!" Emmy giggled. The two laughed and talked into the night as they finished their tea at The Melted Snowflake. The name of the restaurant was surprisingly apt; the two of them could feel the tension between them melt away like the snowflakes on their boots.

* * *

"I can't believe it's so late already." Emmy exclaimed as they bundled up to leave. Already having said goodbye to the owner, whose name they learned was Lorna, they stepped back out into the cold. Although it was nearing midnight, the lights of the town shone bright and cut through the curtain of darkness above.

"This was fun. I'm kind of glad there were snowstorms, so that we could spend Christmas Eve here." Emmy remarked.

"It's Christmas Eve?" Desmond asked.

"Did you really not know until just now!?" The girl laughed. "I guess I can give you a pass since you're Jewish." Emmy paused, her tone becoming slightly more serious. "Lorna taught you about the Christmas cakes, but you wanna know something else?"

"What is it?" Desmond smiled at her. Emmy wove her arm around his, interlocking them as they walked back to the Bostonius.

"I heard that in Japan, Christmas Eve is a romantic night for couples to celebrate together." She rested her cheek against his arm and looked up at him. "Wanna come back and do this again next year? It can be your new holiday tradition." Desmond pulled his arm out of her grasp and reached down to hold her hand instead.

"I'd like that, but only if it's going to become _our_ holiday tradition." Emmy grinned back at him and turned to face him. Letting go of his hand, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. Unfortunately for Emmy, even on her toes, she was still too short. She tried to hop up a bit to reach.

"What, is there another Christmas tree behind me?" Desmond asked, looking out of the corner of his eyes.

"I'm! Trying! To! Give! You! A! _Kiss!_ You! Dummy!" Emmy said between jumps.

"Do you need me to pick you up again?" Desmond chuckled. He crouched low to the ground, as he did before. "Can you reach me now?" He laughed.

"Never mind! I don't want to anymore!" She huffed and crossed her arms in mock annoyance. "People who make fun of my height don't get kisses!" Desmond used his position on the ground to get on his knees on the snow, clasping his hands together.

"Please forgive me, my lady! I swear I'll never do it again!" Desmond begged with equal dramatic flair. Emmy sniffed and looked down at him.

"Well... Since it _is_ Christmas Eve... I suppose I could forgive this transgression, just this once." She said, attempting to put on some sort of royal accent before bursting into laughter. Desmond beamed and jumped back off the ground, scooping her up into a hug. Now that she was eye-level with him, Emmy leaned in to give him a peck on the lips. They held each other in the light of the brilliantly decorated town, warming each other and warding off the December cold. For Emmy, it was the perfect ending to the first perfect Christmas Eve she'd had in over twenty years.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays!


End file.
